This morning, at the parish Church of St. Saviour, the Franciscan community celebrated the Solemnity of All Saints, with Lauds and Holy Mass presided by Father Artemio Vitores, the Custodial Vicar. Several volunteers and friends of the Custody, together with members of the local Christian community, also took part in the celebration.
The Solemnity of All Saints, Father Artemio pointed out in his homily, is one of the most important dates in the Liturgical Year, because saintliness, the supreme prerogative of God, also distinguishes those who are close to God. St. Paul calls the Christians saints, because they are united with God in baptism. Martyrs, in particular, are part of the saintliness of the Father, because they sacrificed their lives in order to remain faithful to the Lord. It was precisely for the collective commemoration of martyrs, in the first Christian millennium, that the Solemnity of All Saints was established. As early as 609, in Rome, Pope Boniface IV had consecrated the Pantheon, dedicating it to the Virgin Mary and all the Martyrs who gave themselves entirely to the love of God and their brothers. The saints, however, are not only those recognized officially, but “a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.” (Revelation 7,9), the host of all those “who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7,14), and who have in this way become similar to the Son of God. This is why St. John says that although “what we shall be has not yet been revealed. When it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3,2).
Jesus, with the words of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5,3-12), shows us the path to take to reach saintliness and achieve authentic happiness, destined to last forever. Pope Benedict XVI writes: “In truth, the blessed par excellence is only Jesus. He is, in fact, the true poor in spirit, the one afflicted, the meek one, the one hungering and thirsting for justice, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemaker. He is the one persecuted for the sake of justice. The Beatitudes show us the spiritual features of Jesus and thus express his mystery, the mystery of his death and Resurrection, of his passion and of the joy of his Resurrection. This mystery, which is the mystery of true blessedness, invites us to follow Jesus and thus to walk toward it. To the extent that we accept his proposal and set out to follow him - each one in his own circumstances - we too can participate in his blessedness.”
The Solemnity of All Saints is therefore the feast day of the Church, called to be saintly in its entirety, through the saintliness of all its children. “What these ordinary men and women have done, why not me?” is what St. Augustine said, talking about the Saints. The vocation for saintliness, or a life in full communion with God and with our brothers, has always been addressed to everyone since the Old Testament: from the innocent Abel to Abraham, “the friend of God”, who “put his faith in the Lord, who attributed it to him as an act of righteousness” (Genesis 15,6); from Moses, to whom God granted that he could speak to him “face to face, as a person speaks to a friend” (Exodus 33,11), to John the Baptist, precursor of the New Covenant (Matthew 11,9-15) and eminent representative of the great mystique; from the ancient Prophets to the Righteous of the New Testament; from the martyrs of the early days of Christianity to the blessed and the saints of the following centuries, to the witnesses of the faith of our era. This life style, in the variety of vocations and ways in which it is accomplished, fully interprets the necessity of the gift of the self through what one has, to the extreme limit of giving one’s life, with the same abnegation and obedience to the Father that Christ showed in front of the Cross. Because through the way of the cross and the charity of the cross that interprets the responsibility of love towards each man, he who seeks holiness places his fulcrum in the permanence of love for God, operating fully in Christ, the beginning of life and meaning for every believer. It is then that he will truly be able to experience the splendour of saintliness, savor the sweetness of authentic blessedness and deeply feel the truth of the words of the Lord: “Do not be afraid of anything that you are going to suffer. Indeed, the devil will throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will face an ordeal for ten days. Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2,8-11).
By Caterina Foppa Pedretti
The Solemnity of All Saints, Father Artemio pointed out in his homily, is one of the most important dates in the Liturgical Year, because saintliness, the supreme prerogative of God, also distinguishes those who are close to God. St. Paul calls the Christians saints, because they are united with God in baptism. Martyrs, in particular, are part of the saintliness of the Father, because they sacrificed their lives in order to remain faithful to the Lord. It was precisely for the collective commemoration of martyrs, in the first Christian millennium, that the Solemnity of All Saints was established. As early as 609, in Rome, Pope Boniface IV had consecrated the Pantheon, dedicating it to the Virgin Mary and all the Martyrs who gave themselves entirely to the love of God and their brothers. The saints, however, are not only those recognized officially, but “a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.” (Revelation 7,9), the host of all those “who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7,14), and who have in this way become similar to the Son of God. This is why St. John says that although “what we shall be has not yet been revealed. When it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3,2).
Jesus, with the words of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5,3-12), shows us the path to take to reach saintliness and achieve authentic happiness, destined to last forever. Pope Benedict XVI writes: “In truth, the blessed par excellence is only Jesus. He is, in fact, the true poor in spirit, the one afflicted, the meek one, the one hungering and thirsting for justice, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemaker. He is the one persecuted for the sake of justice. The Beatitudes show us the spiritual features of Jesus and thus express his mystery, the mystery of his death and Resurrection, of his passion and of the joy of his Resurrection. This mystery, which is the mystery of true blessedness, invites us to follow Jesus and thus to walk toward it. To the extent that we accept his proposal and set out to follow him - each one in his own circumstances - we too can participate in his blessedness.”
The Solemnity of All Saints is therefore the feast day of the Church, called to be saintly in its entirety, through the saintliness of all its children. “What these ordinary men and women have done, why not me?” is what St. Augustine said, talking about the Saints. The vocation for saintliness, or a life in full communion with God and with our brothers, has always been addressed to everyone since the Old Testament: from the innocent Abel to Abraham, “the friend of God”, who “put his faith in the Lord, who attributed it to him as an act of righteousness” (Genesis 15,6); from Moses, to whom God granted that he could speak to him “face to face, as a person speaks to a friend” (Exodus 33,11), to John the Baptist, precursor of the New Covenant (Matthew 11,9-15) and eminent representative of the great mystique; from the ancient Prophets to the Righteous of the New Testament; from the martyrs of the early days of Christianity to the blessed and the saints of the following centuries, to the witnesses of the faith of our era. This life style, in the variety of vocations and ways in which it is accomplished, fully interprets the necessity of the gift of the self through what one has, to the extreme limit of giving one’s life, with the same abnegation and obedience to the Father that Christ showed in front of the Cross. Because through the way of the cross and the charity of the cross that interprets the responsibility of love towards each man, he who seeks holiness places his fulcrum in the permanence of love for God, operating fully in Christ, the beginning of life and meaning for every believer. It is then that he will truly be able to experience the splendour of saintliness, savor the sweetness of authentic blessedness and deeply feel the truth of the words of the Lord: “Do not be afraid of anything that you are going to suffer. Indeed, the devil will throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will face an ordeal for ten days. Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2,8-11).
By Caterina Foppa Pedretti